ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild are entering a crucial off-season, now fully able to participate in free agency without the significant salary cap constraints that hampered them for the past two years.
With no NHL playoff series victory in the last decade, there`s a strong sense of urgency for the club to build a deeper roster around its promising young core. This puts considerable pressure on General Manager Bill Guerin, both this summer and heading into the upcoming season.
“I’m more excited than anything. It’s been a long couple years, just dealing with this stuff and honestly just hearing about it,” said Guerin, who has held his position for six years. “I want high expectations. I’m not doing this job sit in the corner or anything. These are big jobs. These are important jobs. There’s a lot of people out there who love the Minnesota Wild, and I’m trying to deliver something to them. We all are.”
The immediate priority is clear: securing a contract extension for Kirill Kaprizov. The star left wing has just one year remaining on his current deal.
“I’m very confident we’re going to get a deal done with Kirill. I think he really loves this market and this team,” Guerin stated on Tuesday at Xcel Energy Center, five days after the Wild were eliminated from the playoffs on home ice. “I think he feels that we’re going in the right direction.”
Kaprizov himself echoed this sentiment over the weekend. He has accumulated 386 points in 319 regular-season games and 21 points in 25 playoff games for the Wild.
“I love everything here,” Kaprizov commented. “Should be all good.”
The Wild`s challenge in making the playoffs was partly due to Kaprizov missing half the season with a lower-body injury requiring surgery. His performance in the six-game first-round loss to Vegas, where he tallied five goals and four assists, demonstrated his full recovery.
“He just wants to win, and I think this was a promising sign that our team can do it. We can get there. We’re so close,” said left wing Marcus Foligno, reflecting on the three consecutive one-goal losses, including two in overtime, that ended the series. Foligno expressed absolute confidence in signing Kaprizov long-term, jokingly adding, “Or I’ll just rip up his visa.”
Four years ago, Guerin made the significant decision to buy out the contracts of long-time franchise players Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. While this aimed to improve team chemistry, it came at a cost, particularly over the last two seasons, with buyout charges making up roughly 17 percent of their salary cap. These cap hits are set to significantly decrease starting in the 2025-26 season before eventually being removed entirely.
“I like to be aggressive. I don’t want to sit on my hands at all. I’m kind of tired of doing that,” Guerin explained. “Since I walked through the door, my goal has been to build a championship-calibre team for this market, and that’s what I want to do. I don’t want to sign any stupid contracts or anything like that, but I want to make this team better than it is today.”
Tristan Blackwood